Shloka 4

Omens and Consolation after Loss; Reaffirmation of the Saindhava Punishment Vow (उत्पात-दर्शनम्, आश्वासन-वाक्यानि, प्रतिज्ञा-स्थैर्यम्)

Devanagari script

कृपणानां हि रुदतां ये पतन्त्यश्रुबिन्दव:

Transliteration

kṛpaṇānāṃ hi rudatāṃ ye patanty aśrubindavaḥ

Translation

Car les larmes qui tombent—goutte après goutte—des yeux des misérables lorsqu’ils pleurent ne sont pas sans conséquence ; elles portent un poids moral, né d’un chagrin impuissant et des souffrances infligées par le destin et par les actes des hommes.

Word by Word

कृपणानाम्of the wretched/miserable (people)

हिindeed/for

रुदताम्of those who are crying

येwhich/that (those)

पतन्तिfall

अश्रु-बिन्दवःtear-drops

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

tear-drops (aśrubindavaḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of another’s suffering: even the tear-drops of the helpless are significant, implying that causing or ignoring such grief carries karmic and moral consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada speaks reflectively, drawing attention to the tears of the afflicted—an admonitory observation within the war-context of the Droṇa Parva, where loss and lamentation are pervasive.